Azerbaijan International 2024: Indian shuttlers return with big medal haul
Indian shuttlers once again dominated on the international stage, clinching a total of 10 medals, including two golds, at the Azerbaijan International 2024 held in Baku.
The two international tournaments taking place simultaneously in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Galle, Sri Lanka, saw the Indian shuttlers put on a stellar performance. While the Indian shuttlers won 10 medals in Baku, they secured another nine medals at the Sri Lanka International Challenge 2024.
One of the standout moments of India's campaign in Azerbaijan was the complete dominance of the women's singles category, with Indian shuttlers securing all the podium places. Malvika Bansod took the gold, Tanya Hemanth secured the silver, and Anupama Upadhyaya and Tasnim Mir won the bronze medals.
A closer look at the medalists from India at the Azerbaijan International 2024
The women’s singles final saw Malvika Bansod emerge victorious, defeating fellow Indian Tanya Hemanth with a scoreline of 21-15, 22-20, clinching the gold medal and winning her first title in 973 days.
The mixed doubles pair of S. Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, who have been making tremendous leaps up the ranks and are looking to make it to the Paris Olympics, beat Sikki Reddy and Sumeeth Reddy in a thrilling encounter.
Despite losing the first set, the duo kept their composure and won the game 22-20, taking it to the decider. They eventually triumphed with a hard-fought victory of 13-21, 22-20, 21-10, securing the gold medal and beating Sikki Reddy and Sumeeth Reddy for the second time in a final in two weeks. The previous meeting at the Iran Fajr International Challenge saw Variyath and Karunakaran win in straight games with a score of 22-20, 21-14.
The men's doubles final saw Sankar Prasad Udayakumar and P.S. Ravikrishna take on the Czech Republic's Ondrej Kral and Adam Mendrek. Despite giving a fight, the Indian pair had to settle for the silver medal after they went down in straight sets. The match ended with a scoreline of 14-21, 19-21 in favor of Kral and Mendrek.
In the men's singles final, the highly experienced Sameer Verma faced South Korea's Jeon H. J. Verma retired from the match. The scoreline was 13-21, 3-6 (ret.).
A standout performance in the tournament was by Ayush Shetty. The 18-year-old took his second bronze in two weeks. He won one earlier at the Iran Fajr International Challenge. At the Azerbaijan International 2024, Shetty, a bronze medalist from the BWF World Junior Championships last year, lost in the semifinals of the men’s singles category to eventual winner Jeon H.J. 12-21, 12-21.
India’s doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K. also won a bronze medal in the men’s doubles category after they lost in the semifinals to Ondrej Kral and Adam Mendrek in a nail-biting one-hour and nine-minute-long match, which saw the final score be 21-11, 17-21, 23-25 in favor of Kral and Mendrek.
Anupama Upadhyaya and Tasnim Mir were the other two bronze medalists from India.